Yesterday Mauro Santambrogio’s positive test was announced. Now we have the first reactions to the case: The rider himself is in disbelief, Vini Fantini-Selle Italia sports director Luca Scinto appears distraught. Giro d’Italia organizer Michele Acquarone is “not happy, but not surprised”.

Mauro Santambrogio himself was rather closed-mouthed and said to Italian press agency ANSA: “I can only say that I am in disbelief about what has happened and will request the counter analysis as soon as possible.”

For Vini Fantini-Selle Italia sports director Luca Scinto, this is the second announcement of a positive test for one of his riders within as many weeks after Danilo di Luca’s positive from a test taken on the 29th of April.

“Everything’s finished, the whole project is finished,” Scinto told TuttobiciWeb.it. “What can I tell you; I’m distraught, I’m ruined. I defended him like no other rider before because from [the Giro start in] Naples there were awful rumors about him going around the peloton.”

“I didn’t want to believe them and on more than one occasion I had a face-to-face conversation with him. He told me, ‘It’s only jealousy, Luca, calm down. But you can’t keep asking me these questions because they’re offensive’.”

“What can I say? We’re distraught, myself and Angelo [Citracca, the team manager], because we know perfectly well it’s a mortal blow.”

Giro d’Italia race director Michele Acquarone again has to see his race being overshadowed by doping news. However, he seems to take it in stride and has a positive message: “Of course I’m not happy, but I’m not even surprised. The good thing is that the peloton is rebelling. It’s the peloton that no longer accept these things, and they tell [the authorities] what may seem anomalous.”